West Ham make unique change to training ahead of facing Newcastle at St James’ Park

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Newcastle United are set to face West Ham on Monday evening under the lights of St James’ Park.

The Magpies entered the November international break in superb form after winning three games on the bounce.

It was a successful international break for six Newcastle stars who should return to Tyneside full of confidence ahead of Monday’s clash.

Newcastle are currently eighth in the Premier League table but only one point off Chelsea in third. A win on Monday would put the Magpies well on track to compete for a top-four spot this season.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
8	NewcastleNewcastle	11	5	3	3	13	11	2	18

Standing in their way is a West Ham side who have started the season poorly, with new manager Julen Lopetegui already facing pressure just a few months into the job.

The Hammers will be desperate for a result, and it seems they have made unique changes to their training plans ahead of their visit to Newcastle.

West Ham training at night ahead of Newcastle clash

West Ham’s trip to Tyneside on Monday will be their longest away journey of the season with the Londoners making the 280-mile trip for the evening clash.

In preparation for the match, fans spotted on social media that West Ham players have been training at night.

As pointed out by Hammers News, the theory behind the change is that Lopetegui wants his players to acclimatise before facing Newcastle in Monday’s 8pm kickoff.

Newcastle will be strong favourites vs West Ham

Newcastle have a big chance to build momentum in the coming weeks with much more favourable fixtures than in recent weeks.

After overcoming a period that involved games against Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal, Newcastle will now be considered favourites for much of their upcoming matches – including on Monday evening.

Newcastle’s home form has been strong this season with the only defeat so far coming against Brighton in October.

READ MORE: Dan Burn makes worrying Newcastle United admission ahead of facing West Ham

Paul Merson has predicted Newcastle vs West Ham and is tipping the Magpies to take all three points having built up momentum before the break.

Howe is expected to qualify for Europe this season and these are the kind of games Newcastle cannot afford to slip up on – even if West Ham are taking extreme measures to prepare.